EEME Light Box- Schoolhouse Review

Personally I think science and building things is super fun. I have found that some of my kids tend to naturally be inclined to tinker and others tend to focus more on artistic endeavors. Because I am trying to expose my core and love of learning phase kids to many different topics and areas of study, I am always looking for resources to expose them to things they might not otherwise try. I was so excited to be offered an opportunity to review a project from EEME. From their website:

EEME's monthly hands-on project kits teach kids about electronics. Each project kit is paired with online curricula to not only teach kids how to assemble projects like lights, buzzers, and more, but to also teach them how the electronics works.

EEME offers a subscription plan of projects to complete each month. The subscription cost is $18.95/month for their 5 month subscription. You are free to cancel any time. The subscription, for a limited time, includes the kit base free. As of the writing of this post, the details are correct. Please see the website for further price details. EEME projects are designed for children ages 7-12.

For the purpose of this review, we were offered the first project- Genius Light. I found this age range to be spot on and did the Genius Light with Butterfly who is 9 and Pumpkin Pie who is 7. A 6 year old with excellent fine motor control might be able to do the project but it might not interest him as much as an older child. Each project is covered in a set of videos which explain the components, do a few small experiments to teach the principles of the project, utilizes interactive slides to check understanding, and finally build the final product.

 

The box came with all the components in a ziploc baggie including resistors, wires, LED light, photo resistor, bread board, batteries, battery case, project box, and screws and nuts to hold it together. After opening the package, we went online to view the 45 minutes of videos to learn about the various materials and how to assemble our project. The videos were very clear and explanations were well done. The one time the speaker made a mistake in the video, a pop-up window came up with a correction. I was very impressed with the speed of the videos. They weren’t too fast or too slow. We did pause a couple of times to allow the girls to insert various wires into the bread board, but the explanations were very clear so rewinding and pausing wasn’t necessary.

I liked that specific instructions were listed in the sidebar as well as pop-ups in the video to remind students of the instruction. I think my favorite part was that it wasn't just a step by step instruction video but there were several experiments to do before building the final product. Those small experiments got my girls excited to learn more about electricity. They were so thrilled when the light came on the first time and they truly understood how the circuit worked.   This first time around, they took turns doing each step. The whole time Strawberry was clamoring the participate too. In the future, I think might have one child build it and then take all the components out and allow the second child to build it by herself. Either way, the project is easily shared between the two of them. One thing that my girls commented on was that it would have been better if the video wires and the wires we were using were the same color. There was one part where they were a little confused by the wire color since our long wire was the same color as the short wire required in the video and our short wire was a different color altogether. I was able to guide them through that part and they were on their way. The other minor issue we had was inserting the screws in the project box. After some advice from EEME to turn the screws a little bit and have a point up instead of the flat side of the screw up we were successful in getting the box put together.

Both Butterfly and Pumpkin Pie loved the project. I am seriously thinking about a subscription for them, maybe for Christmas?

As of the writing of this review, all videos are viewable without a subscription if you log in with an email address. I highly recommend checking out the videos and projects.

Also from the website ---

Sign up for FREE at http://eeme.co to preview EEME's video curricula. If you think EEME is the right fit for your family, email dad@eeme.co for the latest promotional offer towards their monthly subscription. Just let them know you came from my blog.